Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday expressed doubts that the US and Israel had a clear strategy to end the war in Iran, but said his country would be ready to take part in any stabilization mission after the end of hostilities.

His comments came on the same day foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations, or G7, met in Paris, France and agreed to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route, but only after the war ends.

"I'm just not convinced that what Israel and the US are doing right now will actually succeed," Merz said at a forum organized by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, or FAZ, newspaper in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Is regime change really the goal?" he said. "If that's the goal, I don't think you'll achieve it. It's mostly gone wrong" in past conflicts, he said, pointing to the Afghanistan war.

"I have serious doubts about whether there is a strategy and whether that strategy is being implemented successfully. In that regard, it could take longer, and things probably won't improve," he added.

Fighting has intensified since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb 28. Tehran has responded with repeated drone and missile attacks against Israel and Gulf states that host US forces.

Merz argued the US and Israel "are becoming more deeply entangled in this conflict every day", and cautioned that regime change in Tehran — if that is the aim — is not achievable by military means.

Merz stressed the confrontation is not a NATO fight and said US President Donald Trump appears to recognize that.

"I believe that at least the US government — and probably the president as well — has now accepted that we cannot support this. But we have, of course, offered to organize, for example, military protection of the Strait of Hormuz together with others in the event of a ceasefire," Merz said.

"This requires an international mandate. It requires approval from the German Bundestag (parliament) and a prior cabinet decision. We are far from that, and as long as the war continues, it is not an option for us either," he added.

G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris said a postwar mission would secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noel Barrot, said: "There is a very broad consensus within the international community to preserve the common good of freedom of navigation.

"It is out of the question to live in a world where international waters are closed to navigation, particularly in the context of conflicts that do not concern the countries that need this navigation to continue."

An international mission to escort vessels will operate "once calm has been restored" and "in a strictly defensive posture" according to international law, Barrot added.

"It will necessarily happen one way or another," he said, evoking the law of the sea.

"With each passing day, the situation worsens due to the lack of shipping traffic from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world."

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com